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Show Volume XXX Issue XII The Ogden Valley News Page 3 September 1, 2023 Non-Native, Invasive Plant in Ogden The Demise of Our Cadillac Desert: How Valley Threatens Viability of Pineview and Much More Does twoIt agencies, Have to Give? led by overzealous individuals By Shanna Francis cared nothing for the environment, resulted other Waterbodies, Waterways & Wetlands In 1986, one of Modern Library’s 100 Best who in projects that were economically senseless A non-native grass, phragmites, is an inva- phragmites threatens bird populations through sive perennial that now thrives in much of the devastating their necessary habitat. Large wetlands around the Great Salt Lake, Utah birds, like pelicans, are too big to nest in and Lake and other marshes in northern Utah. It among phragmites—this stymies their populagrows in dense stands and normally reaches 5 tions and endangers their continued existence to 10 feet in height. If the conditions are right in the Ogden Valley. Tightly packed stands of it can reach 18 feet. Compared to other shore- phragmites create a terrible habitat for young line plants, phragmites are really good at tak- fish, which require loosely organized shoreing over habitat; spreading by both rhizomes line plants. and wind-blown seeds. This enables the plant A more aesthetic issue the weed introducto spread up to 20 feet per year. es—each reed can become 12 to 18 feet tall. A cooperative weed management group This ruins views of water bodies; plus, their in Northern Utah encompasses Ogden Valley leaves are razor sharp and can cut skin. This and has worked on several projects over the can be troublesome for fishers, bird watchers last fourteen years. Recently a member of the and general shoreline explorers. In addition, Weber Conservation District spotted a few phragmites pose a fire hazard. In late summer areas of phragmites growing in the Valley. As and fall the reeds dry out and become dry as a result, members of the weed management tinder. Fire can spread rapidly through them group surveyed and mapped a number of and quickly threaten surrounding properties. places the weed is growing in Ogden Valley Because of the risks associated with phragand along state and county roads. Some of mites, the Weber River Cooperative Weed these were sprayed in 2019, but need retreat- Management Area, in partnership with Utah ment. Spraying in Wolf Creek area will begin Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands; on Monday Aug 25, 2023, with the permission U.S. Forest Service; Utah Department of of the golf course, water district and multiple Agriculture; Utah State Parks; and Weber HOAs. County are continually making efforts to proWhat would Ogden Valley be without tect Pineview Reservoir’s shoreline and other Pineview Reservoir? If phragmites were to waterways. invade the reservoir, it would be devastatIf anyone spots this invasive weed, or ing. The weed quickly overcomes shorelines, needs help identifying a suspected plant, making access impossible. Around the Great please contact Lucas Call at Luke.wildscape@ Salt Lake the patches of grass are so dense gmail.com or 801-628-1308. that wetland managers are called out each year to rescue duck hunters who become lost in the phragmites. Phragmites is an incredibly thirsty plant. Compared to other native shoreline plants, it takes up more than its fair share of water. According to a recent Division of Water Quality report, phragmites consumptive water use is 32 inches during the season with an overall water requirement of 71,446 acre-feet during the season, with water loss highest in narrow patches of phrag- Shown is the non-native invasive perennial phragmite that can quickly mites along streams and overtake waterbody shorelines and other wetlands. The plant has recently been found around areas of Ogden Valley and Pineview canals. Wetlands and shore- Reservoir. In response, state, federal, and county leaders are trying to lines provide criti- identify and eradicate the aggressive weed. If you see it growing along cal habitat for birds. wetland areas, especially if around Pineview Reservoir, please contact However, invasion of Lucas Call at Luke.wildscape@gmail.com or 801-628-1308. Non-Fiction Books of the 20th century hit bookshelves across the nation and was nominated for a National Book Critics’ Circle Award. The book? Cadillac Desert by March Reisner. The book was also made into a PBS documentary. A 1993 edition followed, along with a 2017 postscript edition. The book focuses on the duality of two contenders—the aggressor and the defender. The aggressor includes those trying to make their fortune off some of the most inhospitable places in the U.S., contending to exploit to the max the defender—Mother Earth, with tragic environmental ramifications when big business tries to subdue and exploit the defenseless—usually in the name of “property rights” or for the “good” of the public. One SuperSummary’s recap of the book notes that Reisner’s classic recounts “the fallout of human desire to constantly expand into the desert and the costly task of creating water projects… that allowed for this expansion. Reisner suggests that the entire system is founded on political greed and corruption and a desire to be victorious over the desert, a place where humans cannot easily survive. Reisner condemns the American obsession with asserting control over nature, determining that it has led to many environmental disasters, the deterioration of some of America’s greatest bodies of water [think of the Great Salt Lake], and destruction of rural communities….” The book also explores how greed, bad politics, and money—rather than good sense or good planning—have guided water policy in the West. The author provides several examples, including the destruction of the Colorado River, once one of the wildest rivers in the West. The destruction, due in large part, was because of the inextinguishable quest for wealth tied to the explosive growth of California, and the unquenchable thirst for water this growth created. The heavy depletion of groundwater over southern California and accompanying forced xeriscaping fueled drought and the extremely destructive urban wildfires across the state that have occurred in recent years. Maui and its islanders are the most recent casualties amidst the war for water—between fortune-seeking urban and resort developers and crop-raising landowners. Sadly, this battle involved the tragic loss of lives—hundreds—most of whom are still missing and yet to be identified. The Great Depression and World War II spurred the development of the Bureau of Reclamation and the Corps of Engineers, greedy, bitter rivals in the war over tax dollars needed to grow and perpetuate these agencies and the careers of their leaders. The bigger the projects these institutions could secure individually, the more secure these individuals and their institutions became. “The brutal rivalry between the and catastrophic to the environment. “Various political administrations did try and curb the gluttonous water distribution policy, including Jimmy Carter’s. Western politicians who feared the next drought could be the end of their state and political career, undermined these attempts. The Central Arizona Project and California’s State Water Project illustrate the lengths politicians will go to convince their constituents that expensive water projects are necessary…. Despite these consequences, there is still a desire for more dams and more ways to divert water…. It seems that humanity has not learned that we cannot conquer the desert.” In another egregious political water project, the Colorado River Storage Project, Nate Schweber, in his book, This America of Ours: Bernard and Avis DeVoto and the Forgotten Fight to Save the Wild, notes how, in the Truman years, Morris Llewellyn Cooke “had broken down how the Bureau of Reclamation was blowing up the federal debt and wasting water. Because of the high altitudes and short growing seasons in much of the Rocky Mountain West, wheat and alfalfa were the most common crops. However, both were in dangerous national oversupply because they were also being farmed in lower, warmer, and more humid lands. To stabilize the market, the federal government paid subsidies to farmers outside the region to not grow wheat and alfalfa. But western members of Congress fought for government funds to build dams that would grow more. To cover up the financial insanity, the Bureau of Reclamation added hydroelectric generators to dams. Its lobbyists claimed that power sales would compensate the federal government so it could build still more wasteful dams in the West. Bernard [DeVoto] commented, ‘Pork appears to be an acceptable substitute for water.’ “The architects of the Colorado River Storage Project planned, in addition to the six major dam units, to include at least seventeen, but as many as a hundred ‘participating projects,’ or affiliated irrigation infrastructure. Three divergent versions of the Colorado River Storage Project emerged: one version in the House of Representatives, another in the Senate, a third held by the Eisenhower administration. Each had different spoils. A fiscal hawk with the American Enterprise Institute named Raymond Moley, who would become a vital Bernard DeVoto ally, called it a ‘perversion’ the way the Colorado River Storage Project was advancing without specific details and dollar amounts that the public could scrutinize. Moley also saw it as a gaudy example of greed. ‘To attempt a serious discussion of such a bill would be like trying to anticipate the humors of a coquette,’ he wrote. ‘You only know that she will be expensive and CADILLAC DESERT cont. on page 11 The Community Foundation of Ogden Valley (CFOV) invites you to the ND 2 ANNUAL FARM FESTIVAL FREE On-site Parking FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 4:30 P.M. TO 7:30 P.M. FREE Admission Food available from: Music by “Eden’s Yellow Rose” 2103 N 5500 E Eden - Just west of Eden Park Visit Booths from Local Businesses Danelles’ Artisan Sourdough Imagine Music Iris & Emily Fresh Simple Green Farms Milk Barn Creamery Misfit Mushrooms Mountain Born Creamery Patio Springs Gardens Plant Candy Simply Eden Sunnyfield Farm Store Emie James SUPPORT OUR NONPROFITS MATCH DONOR PERIOD HAS BEGUN www.cfov.net IF MANY GIVE IN SMALL AMOUNTS IT MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE Donate at cfov.net |